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Cam Newton was a one-time NFL MVP, nearly led the Carolina Panthers to the franchise’s first Super Bowl title and became an expert on a variety of sports topics.
But in recent weeks, he seems to have shifted to being something of a relationship expert.
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Cam Newton #1 of Team J Balvin looks on against Team Druski during the Super Bowl LX Celebrity Flag Football Game on YouTube at Moscone Center South on February 7, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Newton appeared on the “Talk Les Show” with Courtside Les. The two talked a lot about marriage and relationships on the podcast, where Les asked the former star quarterback a few hypotheticals about having a long-term partner. She asked Newton if he would be married to anywhere between one and five women if it was socially acceptable.
He replied, “No.”
“It’s just feelings. I want to be around me who wants to be around me. So if it’s five or six or one… I like volunteers. I don’t like hostages,” he said, clarifying that he did not believe marriage was a hostage situation. “I don’t think it’s anything. I like volunteers, not hostages. I want people around me who want to be around me and I want them around me.”
Newton said he was fine with never being married as long as he found his life partner.
He said he didn’t need to have a government document officially saying he was married to the person he wanted to be with for the rest of his life.
Then-Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) takes the field during the second half against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on Nov. 28, 2021. (Jasen Vinlove/USA TODAY Sports)
But Les pushed him a little. She asked if Newton would give the woman he wanted to be with a ring even though they weren’t married and even though it was her “favourite finger”.
“What I just said calls everything into question – why? … Well if that’s your favorite finger when I met you, you didn’t have anything on your finger when I met you. It looked good then, it still looks good now,” he said.
Newton suggested that he didn’t want his relationship to turn into a “gift giving contest” and if it was a sparkly ring she wanted and the price didn’t matter, he would bring her to a bubblegum machine.
“Are we doing life together or is this a competition? So you’re basically saying if I don’t give you a ring, you won’t love me as much,” he said. “You can have a ring without love and love without a ring.
“I want you to listen and play this because that’s what most women sound like: ‘I just want a ring, I just want a ring, I just want a ring.’ Well why? ‘Because of marriage, because of marriage … Find where the ring was in the Bible. … I don’t want to be bullied into giving a gift because that’s what it sounds like. It sounds like you’re trying to corner a cat.”
Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton yells “I’m back!” after scoring a rushing touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals in a 2021 game. (IMAGIN)
Newton’s latest remarks came after he was on a separate podcast talking about the “value” of women as they have more children.
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Newton previously defended himself by saying in an interview that women should know how to cook and “when to be quiet.”
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